The Nari and Akiko Chronicles: A New Beginning
by Lynk A. Creonan
Summary: Being able to live forever? That's the least of their problems. Two girls, born of an ancient race, wash up on the shore of Destiny Island without emotions, only knowing their names. One night changed their lives, setting them off on a journey that would last for the next four years. RikuxOC
1. Where Did We Come From?

**Alright, so this is the fourth time I have re-written this story. This story was my very first idea for a FanFiction, and it has come a long way. It started out as a co-write, but I decided to take over, since really, it was easier to move _my _characters in the direction _I _wanted them to go. But none of you care. You just want to read the story. So why are you still reading this? I would have skipped it by now.**

**WARNING:**  
**Even though the paring main pairing in this story is heterosexual, I am extremely fond of yaoi, and there will be many yaoi sightings. Maybe even some yuri sightings, you never know.**

**EDIT:  
I actually had to edit this chapter because after I uploaded it, I re-wrote Nari and Akiko's backstory so it's more plausible and is less confusing to describe. There are only little changes, but they are still changes. **

**SUMMARY:**_  
_**Two mysterious girls wash up on the shore of _Destiny Island _who have lost their memory. The two end up with a decision in front of them, but neither take the same path. With love, emotions, and fate as obstacles, how will the two fare? The things forgotten aren't always lost.**

**PARINGS:  
RikuxOC**

**rated T for:  
slight language**

* * *

**The cold rain poured down on my ghostly white skin.** Everything around me was blurry and painful. All the events that I had experienced had happened too fast. Honestly, I knew what was about to happen to me, but I was still afraid.

I didn't jump when lighting struck at my side. I didn't cower when thunder boomed. The ground shook beneath my feet and I knew that it was coming. My chest began to ache and my heart was ripped out by the shadow that stood before me. It loomed over me, standing over ten feet tall. "Nari!" My best friend, Akiko, yelled as she stood behind me with tears streaming down her face. "You can't let this happen!" Akiko came rushing to my side and began pulling on my arm. The shadow snatched Akiko's heart as well and began to taunt us with them. I walked towards him; towards the water. I would fine without all of the pressure and emotion consuming my mind, at least this was what I thought.

My whole body trembled as I stumbled towards the water. A gigantic wave was forming over me. "No," I whispered. "No!" I began to cry. There was emptiness inside me, although I couldn't name the feeling I had; or rather, the non-feeling. Before I could stop anything, the two of us were swallowed by the wave.

**DAY ONE  
6:09pm**

We were drifting at sea for what I wished was a few hours when we hit dry land. I woke up and saw a silver haired boy, a brunette haired boy and a red haired girl. The boy with the silver hair was poking me with a stick. It was very uncomfortable. He didn't seem very nice. I rolled over and groaned because I really wanted food and sleep. "So she is alive!" I heard Akiko yell.

I jumped to my feet at the sound of her voice. The boy with the silver hair was looking at me like I had just come back from the dead. "Well, Akiko, it is good to see you but not the random boy with a stick. Who the hell is he?" I asked, flipping my silver bangs out of my eyes.

"My name is Riku," he said as he put a hand on his hip.

"Well, it is not very nice to meet you. And who are you two?"

"I am Sora and this is Kairi," the brunette introduced.

Akiko ran up to me and started tugging on my arm again. "C'mon you have to see this island!"

"Fine," I reluctantly replied.

Akiko lead me all over the island. Form the beach on one side to the palm trees on the other. "I was talking to Riku earlier," she brought up out of nowhere.

"So what?" I replied, annoyed with even his name. I do not appreciate being poked.

"He… kept asking me questions about you," Akiko stopped walking and stared out at the sunset.

"Did you answer all of them?" I asked, now also looking out.

"After a while, I told him that if he really wanted to know, he could ask you when you woke up."

"Great…" I sighed. Akiko always got me wound up in these kinds of social things. Then I looked over at her. She looked so worried. Her eyebrows furrowed upward, but a fake smile still on her lips. "Is something wrong?" I asked as I walked closer to her.

"You mean it doesn't bother you?"

"What doesn't bother me?"

"I want you to think, Nari. Do you remember anything?"

"Re…member…" I looked at the sand. I didn't remember anything. My memory was completely blank except for my name, Akiko's name, our personalities, and how close of friends we are.

"It bothers me, how we don't have any memory of anything."

"Akiko, I know we will get our memories back, don't worry. We just have some amnesia."

That's when it hit me. The real problem Akiko was having. I stood next to her in silence, waiting for her to say something.

"I can't feel anything, Nari." That was it. We had no feelings.

"Me too, kid… me too."

"Hey," I turned around at the sound of a new voice.

Kairi.

"We want to help you two."

"How?" Akiko asked.

"Right now, the three of us are working on building a raft so we can sail out to new worlds," she replied. "I suggested that since you two are probably from a different world, that we bring you with us. If you help us with the raft of course."

"Would you guys really do that for us?" Akiko asked excitedly.

I grabbed her arm and looked at her with that, "who told you that you could make the decisions around here," look. She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "If we see other places, then maybe we'll get our memory back faster. We may even find out where we are from."

Kairi smiled and three new faces approached us behind her.

"Hey, you the two fish that washed up on our shore?" a kid with an impossible hairdo and a ball in one hand.

"Well, neither of us are fish…" I mumbled.

"Who are you?" Akiko asked.

"My name's Waka, ya."

"I'm Tidus."

"I'm Selphie. It's nice to meet you!"

I looked over at Akiko after my internal gag fest. She had that, 'I think I'm in love' face on. I looked back over at Selphie. She had the same face. "Sisters!" they squealed simultaneously.

"Gag me with a spoon…" I mumbled. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.

"I can arrange that."

I jumped around and found that Riku was behind me. "Don't do that," I sneered.

He just laughed. I really disliked him now. "How about we go over there and get know one another?" he asked. I can't believe he just asked me that. Didn't he feel my vibe of hatred?

"That sounds-" I began to scowl.

"LIKE A GREAT IDEA!" Akiko shouted, jumping between us and wrapping an arm around each of our shoulders. Oh how her random euphoria brings me down.

"I actually have to head home," Selphie mentioned. Akiko sighed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Akiko asked.

"Definitely!"

"Catch ya' later!" Tidus called as the three ran off.

Ohmigod.

The three of us that were left walked over to the other side of the island where we stood on a plateau that looked like one of those cheap island cakes with the lopsided tree and awkward shaped fruit.

"Sora, they said they would help us!" Kairi cheered as we ran up to Sora who was sitting on the awkward tree.

"Awesome!" Sora replied as Kairi hopped up on the tree next to him. Riku leaned back against the trunk. I hopped up next to Kairi and Akiko plopped down on the ground, sitting cross legged.

"So, Nari," Riku ventured. I didn't look at him even though he was talking to me. I know it was rude, but I didn't like this guy. "Where did you come from?" I looked over at Akiko to signal that I wanted her to answer.

"We don't have any memory of our lives before we arrived here," Akiko answered with her usual joyous tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Riku apologized.

"It's okay; it doesn't seem to bother Nari, even though it bothers me." Akiko looked at me. "Nothing ever seems to bother her. Nari was always just so…carefree." She nervously chuckled. "It makes me jealous. I just wish I could remember why and what jealousy felt like."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Akiko and I can't feel anything," I answered.

Riku looked at me with widened eyes. "Has it always been that way?" he asked after looking back out to the water.

"I don't think so," Akiko replied.

"Well, it isn't a side effect of amnesia," Kairi added in.

I remembered. Right at that second, I remembered what it was; what Akiko and I really were. It was too hard to explain to the three others right now, so I decided I would tell Akiko when we were alone.

"We'll figure it out eventually," Sora assured, smiling. He seemed like the carefree type.

"So, has it always been the six of you?" Akiko asked in direction of Sora.

"No, it used to be just five of us, but then Kairi moved here. She's the mayor's daughter," he replied.

"That must be exciting," Akiko chuckled.

"You have no idea," Kairi laughed.

I'm not quite sure if I was listening or not for the rest of that conversation. All I know was that Riku kept asking me questions and I kept looking at Akiko for her to answer. Eventually she told Riku that I don't talk much, which I don't.

"Where will they stay?" Sora asked Riku.

"They can stay at my house!" Kairi answered as she jumped off the tree. "I have some extra space in my room."

"Sounds good to me," Akiko replied as she stood up.

I hopped of the tree, and with all the luck in the world, I lost my footing and fell right into the arms of Riku. Dislike.

"You should watch your footing," Riku giggled. There was a cloud of sand around us. The other three sprinted off. How dare they.

I shoved him off. "I'm fine by myself," I said coldly.

"Do you remember how old you are?" he called as I started to walk off.

_No__, _I thought, _but I should still tell him something._ "I'm sixteen," I replied, still walking.

"Ah, no wonder." He started walking too.

I stopped and spun around. "What's that supposed to mean?" He was quickly in my personal space bubble.

"Well, you're taller than me, incredibly slim and…" Now he was WAY too close for my liking. He was also whispering in my ear now as well as holding my black hair close to his lips. "Sexilicious."

I turned as red as the Kool-Aid guy as he brushed past me and walked off, smiling. I was surprised he wasn't evilly cackling as he jumped on his boat and rowed back to his home.

"Nari! C'mon!" Kairi yelled as she and Akiko waved for me to come to them. I zoned back into reality and jumped off of the wooden walkway onto the beach.

=**At Kairi's House**=  
**10:27pm**

"Hey, Akiko, can I talk to you a moment?" I asked after Kairi went off to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

"Yeah, what's up?" she replied as she sat down on the air mattress next to me.

"I know why we don't feel anything."

"So do I," she replied as she lay down on her stomach. "It's because we're **priscus'**, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Right after you mentioned it while we were by that tree; it just… came to me."

"It was the same way for me."

Akiko rolled over ad looked at the ceiling. "To even think about the fact that we don't have hearts…"

"We are living without hearts, Akiko. There isn't anything that we can do about it."

"But we _can_ do something! There has to be something in our past that can help us!"

Kairi walked into the room. She was sort of hopping as if she had a song stuck in her head, or maybe she just walked like that. I couldn't tell.

I was staring at the crease in Kairi's skirt. It was folded up for no reason and bothering the hell out of me. I pictured it unfolding and staying that way. It did shortly after. Completely baffled, I got up and walked into the bathroom to pee.

"Nari really doesn't talk too much…" I heard Kairi say.

"Yeah, it's like I'm her voice," Akiko giggled.

"You really can't remember if there is a reason for that?"

"Nope, it's just the way it's always been."

I walked out of the bathroom and looked around. There were clothes strewn about, Akiko now in pajamas and Kairi sitting on her bed writing in what I imagined was a journal or diary.

I yawned and climbed onto my air mattress and before I knew it, I had nodded off through Kairi and Akiko's conversation. All I can remember is Kairi saying, "I always leave my window unlocked if you want to head back over to the island."

**11:00pm**

"What do you think you're doing?" Akiko yelled as I held a sword that resembled a key in my hand.

There was blood everywhere. It was on me, Akiko, Kairi, Sora, but not on Riku. Akiko and the others were trapped behind vines that were holding them to the wall. Kairi was unconscious.

I looked up to a raised platform where Riku was. He was walking towards this big heart-like shaped opening that had rainbow colors swirling around. "I have to do this…" I cried.

I jumped up to where he was. Everything around us turned pitch black. I was crying. "I'm so sorry…Riku…"

"Just do it," he said. "Don't you want to stop my suffering?"

"Riku… I l-," My vision flashed to the "this channel is not available" screen for a moment—the one that reminds me of snow.

Riku just smiled.

I ran forward, thrusting the sword right through him.

My scream woke me out of sleep.

"NARI, WHATS WRONG!" Akiko screamed as she jumped out of her bed and over to me. I was now sitting up.

Another piece of memory came back to me. I used to have premonition dreams. Now they're back.

"Akiko, I just saw..." I began. I looked over at Kairi's bed; she was still asleep; hm, heavy sleeper. I didn't really want her to wake up to me telling a story of one of her best friends death. "I'll tell you in the morning, okay?" I rolled over, but there was no way I would be able to fall asleep now. So instead, I informed Akiko that I was going back to the island and slipped out the window.

There were many things that I hadn't noticed before about the island and its surroundings. I guess it was because I was so caught up in everything else that I didn't give myself time to really look at all of it.

The sky was a blue so dark that one could hardly tell it was blue at all. There were so many stars that they weren't countable. The moon was really bright too, as well as the stars. The breeze on my back made my spine shiver. I wiggled my toes in the sand and noticed how soft it was.

Inhaling the air, I relaxed and sat down in the sand. It didn't take long after that to become cold. All of me started shivering. Why didn't I bring a coat? The world will never know. Soon, I started wishing for some way to warm up.

Practically instantaneously a jacket was laid over my shoulders. I turned around and saw who had given me the article.

Apparently fate had a sense of humor. The person who gave me the jacket was none other than Riku. Well thanks up there.

"Why are you here all alone?" Riku asked, taking a seat in the sand next to me.

"I couldn't fall asleep," I casually replied, "so I thought that maybe I could sort some things out here. What about you?"

I couldn't believe I was actually making conversation with this nuisance.

"Same as you; couldn't sleep." I noticed he was slowly creeping closer to me. However, I was too tired to care.

There was a long moment where we were silent. Riku and I were shoulder to shoulder. I was so tired, that I found myself resting my head on his shoulder. It was a shame I disliked him so profoundly. The next moment, I gained a piece of my memory back.

"You still don't remember anything?" he inquired.

Gee, what a coincidence.

"Actually," I began, "I just remembered something. Not too long ago, there was a guy who was completely head over heels for me. I only ever thought of us as friends since he was a few years older than me. Eventually, I realized that I cared for him, but I planned too far ahead in time to tell him. The exact reason I can't remember, but I know that he died for me the day before I was going to confess. So I wrote a song, and the lyrics poke out in my mind so strongly."

"Do you want to sing it right now?" Riku asked.

I nodded and started to sing.

The melody and lyrics drifted off my tongue like it was natural. I was surprised at how good I sounded. My past was so sad. Too bad I couldn't feel the sadness of it now.

Riku didn't say anything to comfort me as if he already knew me. I hated it when people tried to make me feel better by emitting sappy sentences.

When I regained myself, Riku plainly said, "You're beautiful, you know that?"

"No, do I look like the egotistical person who stares in a mirror all day long drooling over themself?"

Riku took a moment to think about it. "I guess you do."

That wasn't the answer I was looking for, but I didn't pester him about it.

Since I knew where this conversation was going to end up going, I stood up and decided I should at least try to sleep. I probably had a better chance now anyway.

"I'm going to go back now," I announced. "I'll see you later,"

As I started to walk off, Riku called, "Nari, do you think you could give me chance?"

"We'll see in the morning," I replied, rowing away in Kairi's boat.

**DAY TWO  
=At Kairi's House=  
11:00am**

I normally slept in on weekends, but it was usually only until 9 o'clock. When I woke up, I found a note on my forehead that was from Kairi. It read:

_Nari,  
Akiko and I headed over to the island already. We left breakfast on the table for you. The boat is still at the dock, so you can head over whenever.  
Kairi._

So I trudged into the kitchen, ate the delicious waffles that Akiko made for me, and then headed off to the island. When I got off the boat, I saw the four of them on the beach in a circle. Kairi was lying on her side with her back to the ocean and her hand draped over her hip. Akiko was sitting cross-legged to the left of her. Riku and Sora were sitting opposite of them and were particularly close to each other; close as in knee to knee.

As soon as Riku saw me, he whispered something in Sora's ear. When the whisper finished, Sora giggled and scooted a little closer to Riku. Sora then did one of those head nod things to Kairi, who then whispered in Akiko's ear. Completely confused, I walked over to them.

"Hey," Riku called as he too did one of those head nods. I sat down next to Akiko, stretched out my legs and leaned back on my hands. "Tired?" he asked plainly.

I simply shook my head at him and narrowed my eyebrows.

"So," Kairi began, smiling at Riku, "you and Sora have anything planed for tonight?"

"Might see a movie," Riku replied.

"My parents are heading out for an anniversary thing tonight. How about my house?" Sora asked.

"We'll see,"

Then something weird happened. Riku kissed Sora on the forehead. I blinked, hoping that I was dreaming. I was absolutely positive that yesterday, Sora had a thing for Kairi. I saw it on his face. What was going on?

Sora giggled, blushed, and scooted in closer to the other.

I looked over at Kairi, who was acting like it was natural. So I believed it. I believed it like it was my job. So all the while I was believing it, the five of us had some of those stupid everyday conversations that are eventually going to mean nothing and might create some inside jokes. Once we ran out of things to say, Kairi, Akiko and I walked to the other side of the island, leaving Sora and Riku all alone.

"Oh," Kairi sighed, "Nari, I left my sweater in Riku's boat. Can you run over and get it for me?"

I nodded and ran back through the door. I walked under the wooden walkway that led to the plateau and something else weird happened. The sun was just about to set and Sora and Riku were holding hands and facing each other; both hands. Sora was looking away and smiling. I guessed that Riku was saying something completely flirtatious. Sora looked up and noticed me, so I backed up into the shadows where I wasn't noticed. Sora stood up on his tip toes and whispered in Riku's ear, his chest pressed against the others. He slid back down to standing on flat feet, still pressed against Riku.

Then it happened. They kissed. The two guys who I was positive were _just_ best friends the day before. The two guys who I had earlier believed were gay.

I could tell by the way they were standing; Sora and Riku were most certainly _not_ gay. Kairi didn't bring a sweater and accidentally leave it in Riku's boat. This was all set up; a total act. I pivoted on my heel and headed back over to Akiko and Kairi.

"What were you hoping to accomplish by making me think that Riku and Sora were gay?" I asked as I stood over the other two who were sitting in the waves.

There was silence for a few moments and only the water crashing on the sand was heard.

"It was Riku's idea," Kairi admitted. "He'll tell you."

I walked off without another word. Form behind me I heard Akiko say, "She's always been too smart for me."

On the other side, Sora was gone and Riku was on the beach by himself. I stood next to him, the both of us silent for a few moments. "Kairi said you would tell me why," I stated.

Riku nervously chuckled. "I thought it would make you jealous," he explained.

"I've known you for a day and a half," I shot back without a second in between his sentence and mine.

"I know," he sighed, "but since you don't want to get to know each other, then I'm gonna get to know you in my own way." He smirked. "So now I know that you don't get jealous easily. From last night I learned a lot. I learned that you are amazing at singing, that you don', and that you are that most vulnerable when you're tired."

I shoved him a couple inches away, but he just came back – closer this time – and laughed.

I thought about his reasoning. It was pretty logical. I didn't see why I wouldn't do the same thing if I were him.

"I still think you're annoying," I began, looking over at him, "but I've only known you for a day and a half."

Riku looked over at me excitedly. "Yeah, and?" he asked like he was a little boy.

"I'll give you a chance," I sighed, giving in.

Riku smiled, leaned closer to me, and placed a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

I blushed again, being quick to take a step back and look at my feet. He brushed his hand through my dark hair and walked passed me saying, "Gotta get home for dinner, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," I sighed.

I never looked forward to the events of the next day, especially when I knew what was going to happen. I worried that my letting Riku in was only leading him to the death that I saw. Then I thought, if I had chosen to reject him, what would have happened?

**DAY THREE  
=Destiny Island=  
8:02am**

It was time for me to find out what was going to happen. Yes, I was still nervous out of my brains, but I was also excited. Why was I excited? Well, don't ask me, because I sure as hell don't know. Wait, I want to take back all of those words. I can't feel anything. Right, focus Nari.

"Oh, Nari!" I heard Sora call to me as Akiko, Kairi and I stepped off the boat. "Riku said he wanted to talk to you on the plateau."

"Okay, thank you," I responded, hopping off the walkway and jogging towards the shack. I jumped up to grab onto the ledge, then pulled myself up with a flip onto the roof and proceeded to walk over to the plateau.

Sure enough, Riku was there, sitting alone on the tree. I noticed that he was holding a yellow star shaped fruit. "You look comfortable in your loneliness," I commented, sitting down on the tree next to him.

"Oh I do?" he replied, obviously joking.

"Yeah, ow," I said aloud, noting the stabbing pain in my temple.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, leaning towards me.

"Nothing, I just have a headache," I assured him.

"Oh, well it just so happens that this fruit I'm holding helps with those, care to take a bite?" he offered, gesturing towards the odd food. I took the fruit from him, noticing that there was a notch missing from it. Soon afterwards, I discovered that said notch was sticking out of his left pocket.

There was no way that I could have known what this food was, but I wasn't and idiot either. The situation was clearly suspicious, and a voice in my head told me not to eat the strange fruit.

"I don't think you're truthing," I said, smiling at him.

"Truthing?"

"The opposite of lying, and don't ignore my implied question," I scolded.

"Okay, okay, I'm lying, it's called a paopu fruit," he explained, pulling the notch he had from his pocket. "When two people share it, their destinies become intertwined; they'll never be separated."

"You sneaky bitch," I gasped. "That isn't what I meant by, 'I'll give you a chance.'"

"Nari, please hear me out," he called after me as I began to hasten away.

"What could you possibly say in this situation that wouldn't make me any more furious with you then I already am?" I fumed, not even facing him. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on inside of me, because if I didn't have any feelings, then what was wrong with me? "Who do you think you are, anyway? I've known you for not even three days, and you think that you can read me like an open book? Squirm your way into my premonition dreams? Rip apart the heart that I don't even have? Don't you understand?" I spun around to face him. I realized that I was still holding the fruit. "I can't love you, I can't ever. I don't have a heart to love with." I looked down at the star. "This probably wouldn't even work." I tossed it into the water, turned around and walked away.

As soon as I planted myself next to Akiko, she noted the blank look on my face and asked what happened.

"You know, I don't know," I answered, sitting down where I was standing.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Please review! I want to know what y'all think! Um, please? I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

**EDIT: I've decided that I'll only update if I get reviews! It's what my friend does and it works for her. So there. I mean, chapter 2's gunna be up but that's just cuz I just finished it. So there.**


	2. Why is Sora so Incompetent?

**Urh, yeah this one took me awhile. However, I have a reason! I got really into my artwork and then started getting a lot of requests from my fans and I still don't have a lot of them finished, but they'll get over it if they love me. Which they do. And I love them too. But that's beside the point. **

**This one's shorter, hope it satisfies you.**

**PAIRINGS:  
****RikuxOC**

**rated T for:**  
**slight language **

* * *

**DAY FOUR  
=Kairi's House=  
7:15am**

"**Get up!" I heard Akiko yell excitedly as she kicked me in the side. **"You're not allowed to sleep in today!"

"Why not?" I sleepily murmured into the white pillows.

"Because something good is going to happen!"

"Something good'll happen to _you _if you let me sleep…"

She sat down on my back. "C'mon Nari, just this once? Please?"

I sighed in defeat as I shoved the brunette off of me and sat up. "Care to explain?"

"Over waffels! Oh, and I get to do your hair today."

Yes I was curious, but with Akiko, it's better to not ask questions. She's really good at not getting into trouble, believe it or not. Strange, I know. It's because she sounds like the blissfully oblivious type, right?

I shook my head and half smiled at the other who seemed to be glowing with so much excitement. Grabbing my arm, she pulled me to my feet and out of the room, practically ripping my arm out of its socket.

"Oh, I'm so excited~!" she squealed, sitting down at the table before her food.

"Please tell me what is going on," I begged, growing tired of what was going on behind the scenes.

"Well," she started, placing her hands in front of her food in an effort to calm herself down, "I was talking to Riku yesterday-"

"-Of course you were," I interrupted, already knowing where this conversation was going to end up going.

"Excuse me, let me finish!" she pouted. "Anyway, so he was like, all sad and stuff, so I set up a little thingy for you guys so you two can make up!"

She sounded way too excited. This wasn't going to work. No way. No how. I gave that guy a chance, and he screwed it up. That is that. No exceptions. So why did I feel like she always did things like this to me?

"Will you tell me exactly what you have planned?" I asked after slapping myself in the forehead with my palm.

"Okay, so, you really like singing, right? So you and him are going to have a cute little picnic thing and you'll sing this song that Kairi and I spent all night writing," she smiled, nodding her head as if she was prompting me to happily agree.

Which I was not going to do.

"That sounds like the farthest thing from romantic," I retorted, "and that's what you two were keeping me up all night with?"

"Oh, c'mon Nar-Nar!"

"Okay, one, never call me that ever again. Two, keep pestering me and I'll never listen to your idiotic plans."

"Got it!" she called before diving into her food and acting like the entire conversation never happened. I was so glad that what I said had worked. I don't know what I would do with myself if I had to deal with her nagging for the rest of my life. However, what I hadn't noticed was that I consequentially agreed to her scheme.

It was weird. Akiko stayed silent until after breakfast, which took the three of us around thirty minutes to eat and clean up. We walked into our room, and from behind me I heard her call, "Okay now come here!"

"Aki-" I tried to protest, but she jumped on me, and attacked me with her brushes, combs, and clips.

When I came to, I looked in the mirror before me and saw that not only had Akiko done my hair, but she did my makeup and even changed what I was wearing. That disturbed me.

I was wearing a short, black, sleeveless, skintight, dress that had an empire waistline, and two folds that went down the front on the left and right side of me. My necklace was very long, looped around my neck twice, crystal blue, and looked like fake pearls. My hair was parted into two layers; the top layer messily pulled up into a bun with a blue flower clip.

"You're good," was all I could say.

"Thank you, I know, now let's go!" she exclaimed, rushing me out the door and throwing a long, purple sweater over my shoulders to "cover the surprise."

"I cannot believe I agreed to this," I sighed, climbing into the boat.

As soon as we arrived-Kairi had left before us-Akiko rushed me up to the plateau and whispered tips for me such as "act natural," but I wasn't actually listening. Before leaving, she called Riku's name and ripped the sweater from my shoulders, making me feel extremely naked.

I looked up from my bare feet and saw Riku looking at me with wide eyes. I could have sworn that he said, "wow," but I was too far away to be sure. Walking towards him, I did as Akiko had informed me, and began to sing the song she and Kairi had written.

"_How long has it been since I met you? You act like you know everything about me, when I'm nothing but a-,_

"_I have no heart, but you reached for something, something to hold._

"_Fall in love sometime. Don't give up for now. Be my light and save me from the dark, and when I come undone, be the rope that ties these broken pieces of what's left of me._"

I was now in front of him, feeling that what I had said was enough.

Wait, had I actually decided that making up with him was a good idea? I guess so, since I was doing the next thing Akiko had instructed me to do.

"You still have that chance I gave you before," I informed softly.

"Thank you," he began, reaching for my chin to pull my face up from down where I was looking. "And you look beautiful today, now shall we have lunch?"

He gestured behind him to a blanket that was spread out on the sand with food placed on it—on plates of course.

I nodded in response, feeling a bit awkward and nervous at this entire situation.

"Riku, listen," I began after we sat down on the plaid covering. "I still feel like this is too fast, especially since it's only been four days."

"I know, and I understand, but I definitely feel something between us," he responded, leaning closer to me.

"How can you understand if you feel opposite to my opinion?" I argued. "Do you not understand that I have no emotions? I can nev-"

"Don't say it, Nari," he coldly interrupted. "I obviously don't care what's wrong and what's not wrong with you. If I love you, then I want you to accept it. I don't want to make you love me in return."

I looked away, not knowing what to say to that.

"I know, now let's just eat this meal, as friends," he added, lifting the tension.

"Thank you," I responded, reaching for my drink.

I have to admit; I had a really fun time with Riku. We sat there for a few hours, laughing and joking about little things. After we cleaned up, Riku told me that he had some things that he had to fetch for the raft, and I noticed that Sora was asleep on the shore. It was really tempting to kick him, but Kairi got to him before I did. "Sora, you lazy bum!" she called, leaning over him. "I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here."

"No!" Sora began to protest. "This huge black _thing_ swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't-ow!"

Kairi hit him on the head. I laughed.

"Are you still dreaming?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"It wasn't a dream! Or was it? I don't know. What was that place? So bizarre…"

"Yeah, sure," Kairi said as if Sora was crazy. Wait, as if? What am I saying? This boy's totally off his rocker.

"Say," Sora began, trying to change the topic, "Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up."

"I've told you before, I don't remember," she replied, walking towards the water with her hands folded behind her back.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing."

"So that kind of thing is common with this island?" I called, entering the scene.

"Nari!" Kairi exclaimed, spinning around to face me. "How did it go?"

"I'll tell you later when Akiko's around," I chuckled, placing my hands on her shoulders to make her stop bouncing.

"You ever want to go back?" Sora piped, still on the previous topic.

"Well," Kairi paused, catching up with Sora's thought process, "I'm happy here."

"Really?"

"But you know, I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too. Along with any other worlds out there! I wanna see 'em all!" he yelled.

"Do you even have an _idea _of how many worlds are out there?" I asked, not really getting that vibe from him; especially if he wants to see _every single_ world.

"No, I guess I never really thought about it…" he sighed.

"So I guess I'm the only one working on the raft," Riku called, walking towards us with a log on his shoulder. As he passed Sora, who was standing with his back to the water now, he tossed the log at him, causing him to fall to the ground. Riku didn't even bat an eyelash or laugh at him since he was so focused on walking towards Kairi and I.

"And you two are just as lazy as he is," he joked.

"So you noticed," Kairi laughed.

I sighed and shook my head.

"Okay, we'll finish it together!" she yelled excitedly.

"Wasn't that the plan all along?" I questioned to no one in particular.

"I'll race you!"

"What, are you kidding?" Riku asked, slightly chuckling.

"Ready? Go!"

Oh Kairi, you are somewhat obnoxious. Sora is all yours.

Riku, Sora, and I take a moment to look at each other, almost as if to say, _let's do this._ Moments later, the three of us sped off with me in the lead, Riku in second, Sora in third, and Kairi in dead last, laughing.

Somewhere along the line, we collapsed in the sand, panting, and by "we" I mean everyone but me. Akiko came up from behind us, asking what all the commotion was.

"Akiko," I began, dreadfully serious and placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on my hip. She raised an eyebrow and frowned, waiting for the news. "We have accompanied ourselves with a group of idiots."

She sighed, releasing her tension. Then she giggled, pulling me into a life threatening grip. "We knew that!"

"Ca-an't…breathe…A-kiko…" I gasped.

"Oh!" she chirped. "My bad!" she grinned, embarrassed, and rubbing the back of her head."

"Okay you guys," Riku called over us. "Let's focus now."

"Right," Akiko said, nodding.

"First, we need supplies," Kairi began, standing with her back to a wooden door. "We'll need logs, a big piece of cloth, some fish, some mushrooms, and I'll think of some other things we might need."

"Alright," I said.

"Akiko and I can get the logs and cloth, while Nari and Sora get the fish and mushrooms," Riku announced. "Kairi you can just think of other things we might need."

"Sounds good," she agreed.

"Come on, Nari!" Sora shouted while running into the water, alreadu looking for fish.

"Coming," I distastefully replied.

_Splash!_

I jumped into the water and dove under as I heard Kairi, Akiko and Riku, mumbling above. "There's one!" I heard Sora yell as I turned around.

"No that's a-" Sora landed on the sandy bottom and scrapped his chest. He floated to the surface and his chest was all red and bleeding as the fish scurried away.

"Up, spoke too soon."

When I looked at Sora, I began worrying. I ran to his side and pulled him out of the water. Kairi came running and pushed me out of the way.

"AKIKO!" she screeched.

"Yesh?" Akiko answered as she poked her head out of the waterfall in the little pond thing.

"HELP!" Kairi and I yelled at the same time. Akiko came rushing to our side with a medical kit that came out of who knows where. She wrapped his chest in water proof bandages and we jumped back in the water, ignoring Kairi as she yelled, 'and be careful.' She's not our mother.

**11:25am**

We stepped out of the water, collectively holding six fish.

"Why did they tell _us_ to catch fish?" Sora complained.

"Hey, six fish isn't so bad," I assured him.

"Unless you're _us_ and catch six, _little_ fish."

One of the fishes that I was holding squirmed out of my arms and back into the water.

"Scratch that, _five_ little fish."

"Well, it isn't like this is going to be the only food we will have. Unless the mushrooms we pick aren't actually edible…"

We carried the fish back to Kairi who then told us that she had thought of two more things that we need. Sora and I were going to collect two seagull eggs while Riku and Akiko were going to gather coconuts. Thus, Sora and I decided that we would get the mushrooms last.

When we got to the two trees, Sora pushed me aside and told me to watch and learn.

Yeah right.

He climbed up the tree and hopped on top to not only find a seagull egg, but its mother guarding it.

"Oh flippy flopper!" Sora yelled.

"I think you mean, 'oh shit!'" I corrected him.

The seagull mother starting pecking at Sora's head and I couldn't help but laugh as I sat on top of the other one, holding the second egg. Stupidly, Sora tried to move around the bird and get the egg, but one could guess that it didn't work out. Sora fell to the ground with holes in his shirt and messed up hair.

I almost fell off of _my_ tree. What a sight. I wanted to capture the image and give it to his wife in the future to tell her I was sorry that she married an idiot.

I hopped down with my egg; not a scratch on it.

"Surprisingly I watched, and didn't learn," I joked, still laughed. I decided that I would take the eggs to Kairi and then help Sora up and go get the mushrooms.

I pivoted and saw Kairi, Riku, and Akiko, lying in the sand rolling back in forth and holding their stomachs as if they had eaten food poisoning. However, I was very well aware that that was not what was going on down there. I smiled, put the eggs down and ran back.

Sora and I, and I mean mostly me, decided that we would get the mushrooms, and then swim in the water and hang out. Sora led me to the cave that Akiko showed me earlier which he called, 'the secret place'. He stood in the middle and looked at all of the cave walls. I shook his shoulder and showed him the mushrooms. "Looks like you didn't need me at all," he said.

"I am going to bring them back to Kairi," I replied.

"I'll catch up with you in a bit."

As I left, I heard Sora talking to someone; something. I simply thought he was crazy, but what I didn't know was that the person he was talking to was the beginning of a big problem.

I sat on the beach, looking out into the ocean as I waited for Sora. He tapped me on the back not too long after I had settled down there. I stood up and was about to turn around when he pushed me into the water. Evidentially, that was really ferociously hilarious to him. We swam out to the shallow part of the water near the plateau where there was a ladder that led up to the top.

The sun was setting and it was a marvelous sight as always.

"Do you like being here on the island with us?" Sora asked awkwardly as he sat down in the water.

"I would say so," I replied. "I don't really have a choice anyway."

"Why?"

"Well, I am kinda stuck here," I stated bluntly.

"Oh, right," he nervously laughed before jumping back into the water and swimming in circles.

"So," he began as he dove under and came back up. "Who do you think you have most in common with?" he asked.

"Sora," I yawned, stretching, "I am going to head back. My fingers are more wrinkly than a prune." I climbed up the ladder and saw Riku, sitting on the tree. I decided it wouldn't hurt to talk to him for a few minutes before heading back. I sat down next to him and asked, "What did you do all day with Akiko?"

"Nothing really," he replied casually. "We got a lot of logs and one really huge cloth. Then when we went to get coconuts and Akiko got knocked out.

"What happened?" I inquired, half laughing.

"She was shaking one of the coconut trees and one of them accidentally landed on her head," he answered, laughing a bit as well. "So, what happened for you today other than conquering that tree?"

"We caught some fish," I answered with a displeased monotone.

"Cool, how many? "

"Five in total."

"That's good."

"Five _tiny_ fish."

"Oh I get it," Riku snickered.

"So that is funny to you? Huh, pretty boy?" I frowned, glaring at him with the fire of a sauna in a volcano on the sun.

"Yeah," he responded while laughing, not even phased by my expression.

"I bet _you_ can't catch anything," I stated, inadvertently challenging him.

"We'll see about that," he grinned.

Riku and I ran to the shore where he took a few steps in and looked around for some fish. I folded my arms in the background, waiting for results. I saw his arms jolt in and out of the water, and once retracted, holding two healthy sized fish. He looked over at me with that cocky smile he always wears. I glared as he chuckled.

"Now, what were you saying about me not being able to catch something?"

"Weenie face," I insulted.

"So, what else did you and Sora do?" he asked after tossing the fish back into the water and placing himself next to me.

"We got mushrooms; that wasn't really a problem. Then we had to get the seagull eggs...Sora had a bit of a problem," I sighed, remembering the event.

"I know, I saw that. Wow that was a laugher."

"I agree." I looked around for a moment, feeling the awkward of the silence. "So, where are Kairi and Akiko?"

"They're talking somewhere."

"Do you know what they are talking about?"

"I have no idea."

"Then let's go find them."

It wasn't too hard to do such a task since the two of them plus Sora were right around the corner spying on us.

"Well hello there," I smirked, feeling triumphant for having caught them red handed.

"Oh, s-s'up?" Sora stuttered.

"We just decided that we would start building the raft tomorrow!" Kairi called excitedly, covering for them.

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

"So, we have everything we need, right?" Kairi asked, realizing that she hadn't actually checked that yet.

"Yup," Akiko confirmed since she was the last person that checked.

"Okay, so we should all come here early tomorrow morning so that we can build the raft, so that we can relax the next day. Then, the day after that, we can go!" Kairi exclaimed, her words rising in pitch and speed as she spoke.

"Good idea," Akiko, Sora, and Riku agreed.

"Not a good idea," I disagreed, crossing my arms and shifting my weight.

"Why protest?" Akiko asked.

"I am _not _getting up early again. That's just not going to happen."

"Alright, then let's all sleep in?" Kairi compromised.

"I love that idea, why didn't you come up with it sooner," I replied sarcastically, turning and starting to walk towards the boats.

"Oh! Nari don't leave without us!" Kairi yelled, waving her hand in the air and jumping up and down as if I could see her.

"See you tomorrow guys!" Akiko called as her and Kairi ran off to catch up with me.

**DAY FIVE  
=Kairi's House=  
10:29am**

I woke up at the time that I had planned, but only to realize that I had been forgotten and left behind. It was just like them to do something like this. Despite this fact, I got up, ate food, put clothes on, and walked out the door and sat in the sand, starring across the waters at the island. _What am I supposed to do? _I thought,_ Swim? No, not happening. _

Sitting on the beach alone wasn't only boring as hell, but it also convinced me to write an S.O.S to the two that left me behind. I threw it into the water; _sans _bottle. I didn't have to wait much longer for something positive to happen.

I saw a boat approaching me with Riku in it.

"You look like you could use a lift," he joked, reaching out for me as we across from each other; him in the boat, me on the walkway.

"I'm dying of laughter on the inside," I commented sarcastically as I grabbed his hand and jumped in the boat. As soon as I sat down, he threw me a paddle; make that _the_ paddle. Yeah, there was only one. I frowned and was about to ask him why I had to do all the work, but he had already leaned backwards with his hand folded behind his head smiling at me. I didn't know if that smile was because he liked me or because he basically just handed me a car to pull up Mount Everest that he had been hulling for two minutes and expected me to pull it the rest of the way without dying. So I asked, "What's that face?"

"You mean this one? It's the one I make when I'm looking at someone beautiful," he replied seriously.

Boy, was that awkward.

Thankfully, we got to the island just in time for Kairi to apologize. I just shook my head and smiled.

"Hey, I know how to make you happy!" Sora yelled as he trudged out of the water which surprisingly was very fugacious because he was so far in. "We will have a race! Me and Riku!"

"That's not going to end well," I commented, walking over to stand next to Akiko.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna win," Riku stated cockily.

Then Kairi butted in. "Oh it is _on_!" she yelled while laughing. We then ran to the other side of the island with all of the supplies for our raft in hand.

Akiko sat down by the finish line—which was consequentially the starting line—and held the logs in her lap. Since I wasn't invited into this little competition, I sat down next to Akiko, and observed the view. Every time I got a chance to look out onto this, I felt glad that I had landed on an island. I loved watching the waves roll over the sand, darkening it in color, pulling back, and the sand then drying from the burning sun. However, every time I thought about how much I loved it, I wondered if there was something in my past that caused this. I wanted to know more about myself.

After Kairi yelled, 'go,' Akiko placed the logs aside and stood up to cheer for Sora. We watched the star they touched carefully. Sora touched first. That was when I bent down towards the finish line to see who would cross it first. The two boys put their feet down at almost the same time, so it was hard to tell at first. I did, however, figure it out when I played it over in my mind a few times. "Sora won," I dryly announced, even though I was impressed.

Riku slapped Sora on the back and declared that he was the one who got to share a paopu fruit with Kairi. I had wondered what he was talking about, but just thought, _well, boys will be boys, right?_

After a few minutes of mindless chatter, we decided that it was a good time to start working on the raft. Man, I was really excited for _that_. I wanted to know so much of my origins other than what I was.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I don't know if you read the edited version of chapter 1, but if you didn't then I shall tell you that I'm not going to update unless I get a decent amount of reviews! It's not a task people. You click a button, and write, like, three words. Even if it's just a smiley face, it counts. By the way, I love you.  
**


	3. What's a Priscus?

**Holy crap, talk about a fast update. I was totally on a roll with this chapter. All my ideas flowing and such. Hope all of you like this one, and it's a wee bit longer. Plus it took me...hours...to write and edit and edit and write...so yeahz. Enjoy.**

**PAIRINGS:  
RikuxOC**

**Rated T For:  
slight language**

**DISCLAIMER****:  
Sadly, I do not own _Kingdom Hearts _or any of _Square Enix_'s characters. I don't live in Japan, nor do I work for the company...sigh. **

* * *

"Well, why don't we call it a day?" Sora suggested as he yawned.

"Good idea," I agreed. We had all actually been working very hard on the raft. We got all of the pieces sawed and tied together. I didn't actually think it would hold, but I didn't want to ruin their spirit. And anyway, they already _have_ sturdy, floatable boats, so why did they want to make something special if they could just use the boats? It made no sense. But like I said before, I didn't want to ruin their spirits.

It was somewhat exciting, actually; having the feeling of accomplishment. Then, tomorrow, we would finish up building the raft.

**DAY SIX  
=Kairi's House=  
9:49am**

Our morning proceeded as usual. I woke up somewhat late, the three of us had breakfast, and afterwards rushed to the boat. After a couple of minutes of paddling, we reached the shore noticed that Sora and Riku were sitting in the sand, waiting. "Hey guys," Kairi called.

"Hey," Sora and Riku both greeted.

"Ready to start building the raft?" Sora asked excitedly.

"Yup!" Akiko exclaimed.

"Sure," I replied.

"Alright," Kairi agreed.

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Sora inquired, jumping to his feet and running towards the place that we had stashed the supplies.

We started by putting the logs together to make a platform big enough for all of us. Well, it wasn't actually big enough. It fit maybe Kairi with all of the food that we gathered. Then Riku, Sora, and I gathered the tall piece of wood we collected and made it stand upward. Afterwards, Kairi and Akiko tied on the cloth to use as a sail. It was very makeshift, if I do say so myself. As soon as we finished with assembling the thing, we divided up the food equally and packed it up. Once our crafting time had finished, we flopped down on the beach; exhausted.

I glanced over at Riku while I lay on the cold sand. He was staring at me. It was inane. I wanted it to stop. However, because of the occurrence from before, I wasn't going to ask him why he was looking at me. That was a whole world of awkward that was allowed to stay far away from me; very far away.

"We'd better head back home," Kairi announced. "It's getting pretty late."

All of us agreed with her statement, and collectively hopped into our respective boats.

Believe it or not, but I was very excited about setting sail on the, quote un-quote, raft, tomorrow. I didn't show it of course. No, that would be silly.

**=Kairi's House=  
6:39pm**

I heard thunder crack and immediately shot up from my bed where I was resting to shake Akiko's arm. Then I heard a yell.

"Is something wrong, Nari?" she asked. "We're about to have dinner."

"I know that, but, I heard someone yelling; it sounded like Sora," I informed her.

"He probably had a nightmare," she replied, knowing where this conversation was going.

"No, it was father away."

I quickly ran to the window, dragging Akiko behind me. I did this act somewhat gracefully, since I didn't want Kairi to hear the disturbance from the other room. I looked out the window and saw a storm, hovering only over the island.

"Nari," she began quietly, "we need to get over to that island."

We both quietly slipped out of the window and into Kairi's boat.

**6:50pm**

I stepped on the sand and saw Riku and Sora standing on the plateau. Without thinking, I started to run to them, and find out what was going on. I passed some little shadow looking things that were painfully familiar, and looking at them made my chest ache. Trying not to focus on the little things, I moved forward.

Once I got over to them, it looked like darkness overwhelming Riku and Sora. For a moment, my mind replaced the image of Riku outstretching his hand while the darkness surrounded him with a person, doing the same thing. He stood tall with broad shoulders, defined muscles, brown hair that spiked up in the middle, but fell normally on the sides, and blue eyes that looked like crystals. I couldn't recognize him, but he was very familiar; almost, too familiar. It was as if I had seen him very recently.

I guess it was because of something I hadn't done for this person that caused me to reach for Riku's hand. My fingers grasped his only seconds before Sora's. I held Riku's hand tightly, as he wrapped me in his arms. The only words I could hear were that of Akiko's, shouting out my name, over and over again. Together, we disappeared into the bottomless darkness.

**DAY SEVEN**

When I opened my eyes, I found myself laying on a blue platform. I felt funny and tingly at the same time. I stood up and looked around. Everything was dark and blue. I heard a voice, it sounded like it was calling me. So I began to wander, even though it didn't seem like the smartest plan at the moment.

After wandering for awhile, I found Riku. I was filled with hope as I rushed over to him. I failed to get to him, however, as I tripped, fell, and landed myself in a cage, and soon transported to a cell. The cell was dark, but big and was right across from Riku's.

A woman soon approached us and explained that we were indeed prisoners until we do what she says. She told us that there was a plan that was mandatory for us to be involved in. I was silent and couldn't talk, but Riku spoke up. "I will follow your plan if you do what I ask," he said flatly.

"Fair enough," hissed the woman. "What about you?"

A question directed towards me.

The words were hard to budge out, even though I knew what I wanted to say. In this cell, I felt like a recluse. Alone and depressed, my throat dry, I coughed, wishing I had a deluge of water.

"I'm going where ever he is going. So I guess that means that the same thing applies to me," I spoke, a surprise, as I got all of the words past the lump in my throat.

"Perfect, now come with me." The woman walked over to a wall and pushed two buttons that opened up both of our chambers. We followed her for awhile. I stuck close to Riku's side as we walked down many hallways. Eventually, we came to a big room with a circular table in the middle of it.

"I imagine that this girl is of interest to you," the stated as we approached the table. A small projection appeared in the middle of the table and depicted a picture of Kairi.

"Kairi," I heard Riku mumble.

Yes, thank you for the clarification. I had no idea who she was. Moving on.

Again, I swallowed the lump in my throat when I had to speak up. "What about a boy named Sora and a girl named Akiko? Can you track them down or whatever this thing can do?" I asked as rudely as I could to make myself sound way more hardcore than actually I was. Even though I was strong, it was still hard to deal with all of this, especially when I had a bigger question in my mind, constantly.

Without any words, up came a picture of Akiko and Sora, wandering around in a shop like looking place. "Where are they?" Riku asked.

"In a world called Traverse town," the woman replied.

"Take me there," Riku and I demanded in unison.

"Your wish is my command." My stomach turned over as I witnessed an evil grin smack the woman on her lips. I turned to Riku and saw him starring at his feet. My insides smiled because I knew that he was as nervous as I was. The two of us were then escorted to a ship like thing where we then flew off to Traverse Town.

Once Riku and I arrived at Traverse town, we were dropped off in the first district. Alright, I take those words back. We were kicked out of the vehicle and left alone in Traverse Town. Riku and I decided to split up so we could cover more ground, considering that there were three districts to search. I took the second district and Riku went to the third.

I walked all around until I came to a hotel type place. I trotted in and checked all of the rooms; nothing. I double checked the ones that I had already searched, and it turned out that I had accidentally skipped one. Of course it was the only room with a green door; it was way obvious.

I knocked on the door before walking inside. This was a good move. Who knows who was in there and what they were doing.

After I knocked, I heard someone from inside call, "It's open." It was a male voice, but it was too deep to be Sora. I entered the room and saw a man and a girl; the girl on a green bed and the man sitting at a table.

"Hello, my name is Nari," I introduced. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for someone and I was wondering if you saw him."

"What does he look like?" asked the girl.

"He has brown spiky hair, blue eyes, carrying around a sword that looks like a key, and possibly a girl with darker brown hair with him as well?"

A sword that looks like a key? Where did that come from? How did I know that?

"What's their names?" asked the man. He was immediately involved in this conversation as soon as I mentioned the key sword.

"I think I should be the one asking _you two_ that. You know my name," I snapped. I like knowing everything; it's a bad habit.

"Sorry, my name is Yuffie and this is Squall." Yuffie—being the girl—explained.

"I told you not to call me Squall. My name is Leon," the man rudely corrected.

"Okay! Sorry Mr. Leonhart."

Oh, these two were perfect friends.

"Excuse me?" I yelled to break them up. "Are you two going to help me or what?"

"Fine," Leon glared. "So what are these guys' names?"

"The boys name is Sora, and the girls name is Akiko," I replied.

"Yeah, I know them, but I don't know where they are anymore," he informed me. "I'll look around for them and will come find you when I spot them. Stay in the first district; it's safe there."

I agreed to what he said to me, and immediately met Riku in the middle of the town.

"Did you find them?" he asked.

"Do I look like I found them?" I replied sarcastically.

No, no I didn't.

Instead of saying something, Riku made a grimace a looked away.

Only a second later, I heard a too familiar voice creep over my shoulder and into my ear as it said, "I have a place to show you." I turned around and saw the woman who had told us that Sora and Akiko were here in the first place. She grabbed mine and Riku's wrists and pulled us over to the ship once again.

The ship landed and Riku and I walked out without the woman, once again. I scanned my surroundings and came to the conclusion that we were standing on the same blue rocks that we had landed on after being sucked into that darkness like dust in a vacuum cleaner. Why is she taking us to see a place that we have already been too?

I pointed upward, looking at how all of the platforms were moving and leading upward. "Why don't we go up there?" I suggested. Riku agreed, and we began to move upward until we reached the highest platform that had an elevator moving back and forth from the castle. I dubbed it, "the people mover." The two of us jumped on the people mover and jumped off once we reached our destination. A black gate opened to let us in.

"This place seems familiar somehow," I pondered.

"Well, we _were_ here before," Riku responded with a cocky attitude as if it was the obvious answer. I bet he thought I was stupid.

"That's not what I meant," I objected, trying to redeem myself from the apparently stupid sounding comment. "I meant that, it feels like I've been here before...when I was younger; _much _younger."

"How much younger?" he queried. "We're only 16."

I paused for a moment.

"You have no idea." I almost revealed my actual age, but hid it in the shadows of my mind, trying not to let it bother me too much. What would he say if he found out that he liked a girl who was around 400 years old?

The two of us wandered around for a while in silence, speaking only few times. It was obvious that both of us had something on our minds, considering that we had the same face on. Ya' know, the one that people make when they are thinking really, really, really, _really_ hard about something that it lulls them into silence and they don't actually know what they are doing at that time. Eventually, the woman once again walked up to us and informed us that Sora and Akiko had moved to a different world.

**=Wonderland=  
8:26pm**

"Oh, this place looks like fun," I muttered to myself as I stepped off of the ship with Riku. Strangely this time, the woman came with us. Then the thought occurred to me, we didn't exactly know her name. I wonder if she was avoiding telling us or something along those lines.

"It depends on what you mean by 'fun,'" Riku mumbled. It would seem he agreed with me. Honestly, who wouldn't? Okay, maybe a bunny or a princess would disagree, but that's about it. This world was make-believe, I mean, it _is_ called Wonderland. The world reminded me a lot of a seven year old on drugs. I can imagine why.

The woman, Riku, and I walked along a corridor until we hit a big door that opened into a smaller door that opened into a smaller door that opened into a smaller door, that finally opened into and actual door. The room we entered was small, and everything felt small. I noticed one really, really, super-duper, teeny, tiny, small door and kneeled down to it. "Man, I am not that skinny," I whispered to myself. What I didn't expect was the door answering me.

"Maybe you would fit if you were smaller."

"Whoa, that's creepy," I commented as I pulled back.

"How do I shrink?" Riku asked. He was boring; obviously to consumed in the thought of rescuing Kairi, and just Kairi. He had a very simple mind, as one could see. It is like I was nothing to him.

"Oi, Riku, you're talking to a door," I called as if he couldn't hear me.

"I have more important things to deal with." Yeah, I'm totally nothing. What a great start to my day in Not-So-Wonderful-Land.

"Just drink the orange potion on the table," the door answered. We all did and we all shrank. At least I thought all three of us did. Instead, Riku and I were ditched again.

The two of us walked to the left of the talking door and through an opening in the wall. "Wow," Riku began. "I was just talking to a door."

"Oh yeah, now you're normal."

"What did I do?"

"Silly boy…" I suspired.

When we entered a court and the woman in charge pointed at us and yelled, 'off with their heads,' I knew it was time to ditch the world. "Okay, let's go Riku," I commanded as I pulled his arm back towards the door.

"What if Sora, Akiko and Kairi are here?"

"I couldn't care less, I don't want to be here another minute."

"Then you can leave, I'm staying."

"Fine, I don't nee-" Before I could finish my sentence, I was pulled away by a cold hand.

"Nari…?" Riku asked as he turned around and noticed I was gone. "Don't tell me I lost you too… I…"

"What's going on here?" I yelled as I was blind folded. "Answer me!"

"Shut up, Princess," a low voice commanded.

"Princess? I'm not a-" Oh I knew what was going on. They needed the seven princesses of heart, and they were mistaking the amount of light I held within me for one of them. Priscus'were not only known for their notorious lifespan, but for their immense amounts of light in their hearts. When mine and Akiko's hearts were ripped out of our bodies, that light still rested in the hole that was where our hearts were; an understandable mistake.

I didn't know where I was being lead, but I was walking, walking somewhere with a lot of people. The first person I heard was the woman who had been continuously kidnapping us, bringing us to worlds, and then abandoning us there. "We now have two of the seven Princess of Heart," She announced as I was pushed forward. The blind fold was pulled off of my face. "It is such a privilege that Riku could bring you here for us," she sneered coldly as she ran her fingers through my hair. "By the way, my name is Maleficent." Before I could contradict, I was pulled against my will to a bed where I was strapped down. Someone pulled a switch, and everything went black.

I couldn't tell how long I had been unconscious for, but it felt like a short time. Soon, I began coming to, and saw Riku leaning over me, looking quiet worried.

"Riku…?" I mumbled as he sat me up on a chair.

"Nari, I am so sorry!" he yelled as he held me in his warm arms.

"You better be sorry for being so dumb."

"I know, I was stupid, and I-"

"Stop being so dramatic, it isn't like you killed her," the woman growled from across the room.

"Shut up Maleficent," I retorted. "Just because you have no feelin-"

"You don't have any feelings either."

"Ha, if you know that, then why do you think that I am a princess of heart?" No reply. Seriously, what was she thinking I she knew that? That line from "no feelings" to "no heart" is easily drawn and quite obvious.

"The priscus are beings born with everlasting hearts."

"Well, _I_ don't have one."

"Priscus…?" Riku whispered shyly in my ear as I broke away from his grip.

"Prove it!" Maleficent continued.

"How do you expect me to do that?"

"I do not know," she called loudly, and then pausing to think. "By showing me who the _real_ princess of heart is."

"I presume you have already located her."

"Those little words mean nothing to me."

"Alright, then I'll make it blunt; _Kairi_."

"Kairi?" Riku interrupted. Oh how that name infuriated me. I could tolerate her before we lost her, but now that the five of us have been separated, it was torturous noticing how much Riku cared for her when he would always boast about how much he wanted to be with me. How does that saying go, "you never realize what you have until it's gone?" That's crap. I always believed that people should realize what they have _before _they lose it. It only causes issues, and issues are annoying.

"I get it, you care for her more than me, I don't need you to tell me," I yelled, losing my cool.

"That's not true!" he shouted back.

"Oh yeah? Then maybe you should start acting like you care for me!"

"How's this?" he ran up to me, grabbed me by the shoulders, and kissed me. His lips were on fire, same as his grip. The contrast between his skin and my frozen skin gave me that tingling feeling that one gets in their fingers when they defrost.

"Better," I sighed, "but a simple kiss isn't going to persuade me."

Okay, so it was a nice kiss, filled with passion and whatnot, but I still wanted more from him. Besides, I wasn't going to let him into my shell just yet. I was actually starting to plan when I was going to tell him about myself.

"If I may interrupt," Maleficent's voice called through to the little world Riku and I were in. I had actually forgotten that she was even there. "You two should get some rest. It's getting late and we have places to go in the morning."

"That sounds like a good plan," I agreed.

"Then follow me. I will escort you to your room."

"Room? As in singular?" I asked.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, let's go," Riku cut in before I got the chance to object.

Our chamber was small, blue, and distasteful. Somewhat like the rest of the castle; except, not as run down. There were two beds, each covered with green, stripped blankets and two white pillows. In the corner, there was a book case. Next to that there was a dresser, and a mirror.

"Enjoy your stay at Hollow Bastion," I heard Maleficent call as she closed the door behind us.

I looked over that the book case, and scanned some of the titles. _The Legend of the Priscus Race, Death Gods and their Companions, _and _History; Origins of the Keyblade _were the titles I read_. _The last one hit me, and triggered a memory.

"Riku," I began, being sure that this was something that I wanted to tell him, and was also sure that I would follow with showing him the book of my heritage. "There's something I want to tell you."

"Come over here and sit," he instructed, "then tell."

I did as he suggested, then folded my hands and looked at my bare feet, forming the words in my mind.

"I just remembered something, something very important about myself." I looked up at him. "I'm a warrior, a fighter, and one of the best at that. My weapon is one that has been handed down to those who have great amounts of light. It's called a keyblade." I held out my hand and summoned it to show him. "Yes, its name is, 'Dancing with Shadows.'"

"That's amazing," Riku said quietly, thoughts wandering off to other places.

"And there's something else I want to say."

"Yeah, go on."

"After I tell you this, you may not claim to like me ever again."

"Oh, c'mon Nars."

Whoa, he did _not _just call me that.

"It can't be _that _bad," he finished.

"If you insist," I sighed, not actually knowing that result. All I knew was that this was the right time to tell him, because it was right before he fell too hard for me. If I told him when he was seriously in love with me, then he could potentially be hurt greatly.

"I am of an ancient race known as, 'priscus.' The priscus are beings that have immortality; they can never die. So far, I have lived for around 400 years. I lost count somewhere along the way. That is the reason why I still exist. Even though my heart and Akiko's were stolen by a being called, 'a heartless,' we lived on."

There was silence between us. I assumed that Riku was simply devouring all of the words I said, and then processing them slowly.

"Why would knowing that make me not love you?" he asked after what seemed like an eternity.

"Because I will outlive you, Riku," I explained. "You will die, and I will continue to live, and nothing will change that."

"Nari," he started quietly. "Can I sleep on that thought? Just give me some time, okay?"

"That sounds fair." I rose and walked over to my bed, slipping under the covers. "I told you now, because if you do decide that loving me would hurt too much, then it will hurt less now than it would later."

"Thank you for that," he mumbled before falling into sleep.

I soon fell into a slumber as well.

**DAY EIGHT  
=Hollow Bastion=  
8:00am**

"Rise and shine!" a voice called from outside our room.

No way in hell was I getting up. I was awake all night long, so I was going to sleep for as long as I wanted.

"Screw off," I muttered.

"Not happening, toots, now get up or else I'll sick the hounds on you."

What the hell is with these people and their nicknames for me? Someone's going to die one day about it.

"Fine, fine, whatever, whatever, now _screw off._"

"You're obviously not a morning person," I heard Riku say.

I opened my eyes out of curiosity, and he was right there, in my face, leaning over me.

"No, I'm not."

He leaned down further and kissed me softly. "I've decided that I still love you, since you _are _still you, and I _am _still me. _Nothing_ can change _that._"

"Cute, adorable, heartwarming, get off me," I demanded. No matter what kind things he said to me, I was still not a morning person.

"Rawr," he toyed sarcastically, walking away to sit on his own bed.

I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and prepared myself for the long day that I _knew _was ahead of me.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So~? What'd ya' think? I thought it was...revealing.**

**Please review, or else I won't update! I don't want to be working my butts of for people who aren't even reading this. **


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